Painting Technique – 6 Easy Steps to Faux Granite

Once you are comfortable with the technique of painting faux granite… you can use it to paint counter tops, decor items and even your floors!

You won’t learn how to all those things today…just the faux granite painting technique.

So Lets Get Started!

First lets get some supplies…. (my partner and I say the word “supplies” as if we were yelling “Surprise!” So imagine walking down the ailes at a big box store and hearing two giggling gals in the next aisles talking about needing to stock up on supplies … I would say…”okay, we need to stock up on our paint brush supply” and before you know it my partner is yelling “Supplies!”

But I digress from the subject at hand. Supplies:

I am assuming you have regular painting supplies…

drop cloth

tape

rags

paint containers (like plastic toss away cups and plates) etc.

paint tray and roller (for floors or counters)

paint brush if you are faux painting small objects

Sea Sponge (qty 2) – You need to look for one with lots of open holes… don’t get synthetic. Get a natural sponge…the softer the better. Some sponges have tiny holes and are hard as a rock when dry, you don’t want those. Look for large open holes and a softish resilience like the palm of your hand. The sponge must be damp not wet before you start to paint.

Large flat container- a “tupper” works great because you can seal it overnight…but you won’t be able to use it for food again. You can use a paint tray or I have used an old square baking pan.

Water based glazing liquid

Water based sealer in high- gloss sheen

Three colors of paint. If your doing a small area…get the 2 oz. acrylic paint bottles from the craft store. If you going to tackle a counter or floor then get your semi-gloss latex paint in pint or gallon containers.

Paint color choices are by personal choice, here are some suggestions:

Base Coat- Cream Granite colors Brown, Black and White (mix gray)

Base Coat – Gold / Green Granite colors Rust, Black and White

Base Coat – Brown Granite colors Black and White (and mix gray)

Base Coat – Black Granite colors White ( mix 2 tones of gray)

The Faux Granite Directions

Roll or brush your base coat paint on and let dry.

Pour your 3 colors into one tray – puddles that will run together and just touch. They do get mixed together when you start using the sea sponge, but that’s okay.

I don’t mix the paint and glaze together before sponging on. (Personal choice)

I like to spread a little clear glaze onto the first area and with my damp sea sponge pick up one – two – or three colors at a time. If you’re new to this try it one color at a time, as it can get muddy.

You are pouncing the sponge onto the surface lightly. I mean with a baby soft light touch. Don’t drag the sponge. You are creating little dots of color…every one an irregular shaped dot.

Traditionally Faux Granite is painted one color at a time so all the colors don’t blend, and they layer on top of each other. I get a little impatient and I like some of the dots to blend and make variations of color.

That’s it… after the surface is covered with faux granite and dry…Seal with a few coats.

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